


The Interview

by Eris_historia



Category: The Proposal (2009)
Genre: Gen, Interview, Pre-Movie, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28302330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eris_historia/pseuds/Eris_historia
Summary: “Andrew Paxton?” A dark-haired woman called from the doorway heading into an office area.“Yes! I mean, yes, that’s me,” the young man waiting in the publisher’s lobby said enthusiastically as he stood up. He gripped his resume in one hand as he strode forward with his other hand outstretched to shake the woman’s hand.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	The Interview

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moemachina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moemachina/gifts).



> I hope that you enjoy this! I love this movie so much, and I'm such a sucker for rom-coms!

“Andrew Paxton?” A dark-haired woman called from the doorway heading into an office area.

“Yes! I mean, yes, that’s me,” the young man waiting in the publisher’s lobby said enthusiastically as he stood up. He gripped his resume in one hand as he strode forward with his other hand outstretched to shake the woman’s hand.

“Nice to meet you,” the woman replied as she shook his hand. As they walked through the doorway and down a long hallway through a bunch of silent cubicles, the woman began to speak.

“You’ll be interviewing with Ms. Tate, one of our editors. She’s in need of a new assistant after her previous one quit abruptly.”

“Yes, I remember from the email setting up the interview,” Andrew said. He was nervous, and he knew that he _had_ to ace this interview. Otherwise, if he didn’t get a job soon, he’d have to head back to Sitka, back to his father who just wanted him to take over the family business, which Andrew was adamant that he was _not_ going to do. While not a position at the level he hoped to eventually achieve, it was at least a foot in the door at one of the major publishing companies.

“Here is where you’ll be meeting with her,” the woman, whose name Andrew still didn’t know, but he didn’t quite know how to ask about, said, motioning into the big-windowed conference room that they were in front of. She looked him up and down, and let out a small, rueful laugh. “ _Good luck_ ,” she said sardonically, as he began to sit down at the table in the room. 

Andrew’s head whipped around at the tone from the woman, but she had already begun walking away as the door was closing.  _What was that supposed to mean?_ he thought to himself. He breathed a couple of deep breaths and attempted to calm his nerves. He wiped his hands on his suit pants as  another  dark-haired ,  but  younger, woman came in through the door and sat opposite him at the table,. She hadn’t made eye contact with him yet, as she appeared to be entirely focused on the folder of papers that she held in her hand.

“Andrew Paxton?” she asked.

“Uh, yes. Yes, that’s me.”

“You have a degree in communications from the University of Alaska?”

“Yes, yes I do. I also minored in journalism,” he replied, a little unnerved by the fact that this woman, presumably Ms. Tate, still hadn’t looked at him.

“Huh. I was not aware that they had any decent schools in Alaska. What do you hope to get from this position”

“Wait, what? What- what does _that_ mean? There’s definitely good schools in Alaska! Is this a joke?” He thought that he might be getting _Punk’d_ at the moment, and looked around the room to see if he could spot any hidden cameras around.

“Uh huh. Sure there are. Answer my question, please.” The woman still was not looking at him, leafing through the other papers within the packet in front of her.

“Um, sorry, what question? The question of what I want to get out of this position?”

“Yes, that would be the question that I asked.”

“Um, well, I hope to… uh… learn the ropes of the publishing industry, and hopefully one day move into an editor position?” Andrew answered, uncertain as to what was the correct answer that Ms. Tate was looking for.

“You want to be an editor? You do understand that an editor position is a lot of work?” Ms. Tate asked him.

“Yes, yes, I completely understand that being an editor is a lot of work. I’m not afraid of hard work, and having to earn my place,” Andrew said. That was one thing that his father had instilled in him, his work ethic. He wasn’t worried about keeping up with the workload. He would do whatever it took to achieve his goals. But seriously, why wouldn’t Ms. Tate look at him? It was starting to unnerve him.

“You say that you’re not afraid of hard work. I’ve heard that before. Everyone who has said that to me has quit because they couldn’t hack it in this environment. Why wouldn’t you be the same?”

“Um, because I’m not?” Andrew said, ending the statement in almost a question.

“You would be perfectly fine with working odd hours of the day? Getting coffee? Fetching manuscripts? Getting my lunch, managing my schedule, booking personal appointments, picking up my dry cleaning, in essence, handling my entire life without it requiring any input from me? Really,” Ms. Tate said, disbelievingly. She still had yet to look at Andrew, keeping her focus on the papers in front of her, which Andrew could see contained his resume. 

“If… that’s what the position required, then yes, I would be fine with that,” Andrew replied slowly. “I just want a job. I will literally do anything, _anything_ to make it in this industry.” What was she getting at? It was almost as though the woman was trying to warn him off this job.

“Desperation is not a good look on anyone. You need to stop that,” Ms. Tate said. She continued, “I am not an easy person to work for. I have high standards. People who do not meet those standards are made aware of that fact. Quickly, and bluntly. I do not give effusive praise. You either do your job adequately, and are still employed, or you do not perform, and are not longer employed. It’s as simple as that.”

“That’s… fine. Honestly, I’m fine with anything that the position requires,” Andrew said. When were they going to get to the typical interview questions?

“We’ll see.” Ms. Tate finally looked up at Andrew and met his eyes, for the first time the whole interview. He sucked in his breath as he met the gaze of her brown eyes and saw the calculating glimmer within them. It felt like she was stripping him bare and seeing everything in him. “You start on Monday. 6:30 a.m. Wear a suit and a tie, preferably one that is properly ironed and doesn’t look like you’ve just rolled out of your bed in it. And have an unsweetened cinnamon light soy latte ready when I get here.” She began to gather up the papers from in front of her and stood up from the table.

“Mon- Wait! Start on Monday? You mean I have the job?” Andrew asked excitedly. This wasn’t like any interview he’d had or heard about before. He thought he had whiplash from the different directions that the interview had taken. Was she actually serious? He had the job?

“You have the job provided you can prove to be somewhat competent at basic tasks. I don’t hold out much hope, as my assistants don’t last long, but to be frank, you’re the best of a horrible pack. So yes, by default, you have the job.” With those last words, she left the interview room, leaving Andrew to wonder what or where he was supposed to go now. He looked around and tapped his feet a bit before he saw the first woman he had met that afternoon coming around the corner through the window. She opened the door to the room, and asked him to follow her.

As they walked back through the practically silent cubicle rows, Andrew couldn’t help but feel ecstatic that he was finally on his way to making it in the publishing world. As he and the other woman, Jane Simmonds  from HR , he finally learned, completed the paperwork needed for his  employment, he saw a young red-headed woman walking fast down the aisle in their direction, looking as though she was holding back tears.

“She’s a _fucking_ nightmare! I can’t do it anymore! I’m not even her assistant and she still treats me like crap! I’m seriously ready to quit if it’ll mean I never have to see her again!” the woman said, fighting against the sobs that threatened to escape her throat, as she rushed past them, heading towards the doorway marked as a restroom.

“Who- who was she talking about?” Andrew asked, wondering who he was going to need to stay away from. If it was someone who could make a person that didn’t even work for them want to quit, it was best to avoid them at all costs.

“Your new boss,” Jane replied with a sideways glance at Andrew.


End file.
